Dry conditions return to southwest WA

Conditions were drier than average across most of southern Australia in April and May 2012. Drier than normal late autumn-early winters have been experienced across southwest and southeast Australia for more than a decade.

As a result of recent dry conditions and a very dry March:

• Severe rainfall deficiencies have emerged across southwestern and southern and central interior districts of Western Australia for the 3-month autumn period (March to May 2012).
• Southwest Western Australia recorded its 7th driest autumn on record, while May was the 5th driest on record for Western Australia as a whole.

Heavy rain in parts of southern coastal WA at the start of June only had a minor impact on the areas of severe deficiencies.

Long-term rainfall deficiencies are also evident in southwest Western Australia. The southwest region had its driest year on record in 2010, and the two-year period of 2010 to 2011 was the driest on record in some parts of southwest Western Australia.